[0:00] Well, I am extremely nervous. I have not preached to a crowd in over three and a half months. I'm much more comfortable preaching to a camera these days.
[0:10] And so this is the first time that we've been in church. This is the first time I've had to, not had to, gotten to, preach to a crowd. And it's the first time I've ever preached a psalm. So I'm just going to make you guys miss my dad a whole lot tonight, all right?
[0:24] So let's open our Bibles to Psalm 41. While you're opening your Bibles, just to give you a little update about our life and what has been going on with us, I would like to thank Vision Baptist Church as a whole and many of you individuals for being very involved in helping us get back to the States.
[0:43] And it wouldn't be possible if it weren't for you guys, but it really was amazing to see how God provided, how he continues to provide. I was talking on the phone with Mark Coffey, which, you know, he has been part of the family since I can, since I was about six years old, I guess.
[0:59] And regretfully, he's been around for that long. But, no, we were on the phone. He said, man, we need to get you back here to the States. And everything in me wanted to get back to the States. I can't tell you the feeling of helplessness knowing that your dad is dying and you're 4,000 miles away and there's nothing you can do about it.
[1:16] And I said, man, I just can't. I can't afford to. The only flights that they've got are repatriation flights. It's about $2,200 a piece. And that's only to Miami. Like, they're basically making it right across the board and, like, dropping you off and, like, you know, do what you can from there.
[1:28] And I said, and then I'd have to get home. And there's six of us. I mean, it's just a big family. I don't know. He said, I think we can raise the money. And, man, in less than 24 hours, God provided all the money that we needed to get back.
[1:40] Everything that we've needed from the moment that we decided to leave. I've never experienced God's provision as clearly as I have been experiencing it for the last month.
[1:53] Between, I mean, it was less than a week before we were on the plane heading to the States. And it was a tough time. When Miguel talks about quarantine, I'm telling you, you know nothing about quarantine until you spent quarantine in a Latin American country and not allowed to leave your house for any reason at all with four kids in the house, okay?
[2:12] Miguel doesn't know anything about quarantine because four kids really just kind of multiplies it. But, you know, it was a very difficult. There was a martial law.
[2:24] There's martial law in Peru. So, basically, you couldn't leave your house after 6 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day. And so, I mean, it was just a whole lot of stuff. You couldn't drive your vehicle.
[2:34] If you wanted to go to the grocery store, there's only three things open in the whole country. And that is banks, pharmacies, and grocery stores. And if you wanted to go to the grocery store, you could only take what you could carry because there were no public transportation vehicles, nothing.
[2:44] And so, you know, we get this news about my dad during all of this, and we wonder, like, how in the world are we going to get to the States? And so, actually, we drove our car from Arequipa to Lima.
[2:55] That's a 13-hour drive. If you've been in Peru, you would be very surprised to know that after 13 hours of driving, not one police officer asked us for a bribe. Not one police officer caused us any problems.
[3:06] We were able to make it. God gave us a free place to stay. I was on the phone with a hotel. It was going to cost us $700 to stay for two nights in Lima. And while I was on the phone with a hotel, I got a text message that said, hey, we got you a free place to stay.
[3:18] And we got a free place to stay in Lima. We flew out. The craziest flight I've ever been on, we flew out of an Air Force base, out of an Air Force hangar with U.S. Marines standing around everywhere.
[3:30] I mean, it was the craziest experience of my life. And we landed in Miami. God had a vehicle for us ready in Miami. We made it all the way to Tennessee. We've had absolutely everything that we've needed. And so the other night, I just woke up in the middle of the night, and I was like, man, you, God, you're giving us everything.
[3:44] Like, everything. I mean, there's nothing that we've needed that you've not, I need a car, God. Give us a, so, waiting for that one to come through. But, you know, I told Travis Snow that story, and he said, well, we're going on the road for three weeks, and you can use our car for the next three weeks if you need it.
[3:57] So it's like God just continues to provide and continues to bless. And I really want to thank you guys, Vision Matters Church especially, for giving and being a part of that. My family thanks you, and we're excited to be able to spend some time with you guys while we watch my dad recover and while we wait for the country to open back up so we can go back.
[4:15] Let's go to Psalm chapter 41. Psalm chapter 41.
[4:46] And if I could just tell you something tonight that you could go away with is that God is going to be with you through the toughest trials of your life and the most difficult times of your life. He will be with you.
[4:57] And he is faithful. He's a faithful friend. When nobody else is faithful, he's faithful. And because he's faithful, that means that we will have the victory. And not only will we have the victory, but we have the victory right now.
[5:09] And that's what we can live in is in victory. You know, this whole time, I'll be honest with you, none of this has felt right. Nothing feels right in the world right now. And I'm telling you, nothing.
[5:20] Nothing feels right. I haven't been to church in three and a half months. I need to get right with God. I've not been able to preach. That was a joke. I was hoping y'all would get it. Now I'm scared. I don't want to meet with the deacons. I haven't been to church in three and a half months.
[5:32] I haven't been able to preach to a group of people. Nothing feels right in the world. No churches in Latin America are allowed to meet. It's not like some are choosing not to. No, it is against the law to meet right now. Who would have thought that a Latin American country would be as closed as China?
[5:45] Who would have thought that we wouldn't be able to meet together? Who would have thought that I'd be standing in front of a camera preaching? Who would have thought that I would be on the phone wondering if my dad is going to live or if he's going to die? Nothing feels right.
[5:56] I want to hug all of you, and I can't. It just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right. Some of you would think it doesn't feel right if you do hug me. But it doesn't feel right. Nothing in this world, nothing in this time feels right.
[6:08] But God is faithful in the most uncertain times of our lives. We can trust in him, and we can trust that he will bring us through. Not only that he'll bring us through, but that we can have victory now.
[6:20] All of this feels like a loss. All of this feels like we're losing the game. For me, I don't know about you, but for me it feels like we're losing the game. For me, with all of this that we've been going through, I almost feel like, man, we're losing.
[6:32] You know, March 15th, I stood up and told my church. I handed out a piece of paper. We did a whole, we polled the whole church and wanted to know what they thought. And we announced on March 15th, that March 22nd, we would be going to two services because we didn't have room.
[6:46] And the church was growing and God was blessing. And March 22nd never came. We went from going from one service to two services to no services. And I didn't know, I still don't understand.
[6:58] And it doesn't feel right. But you know that even now, in all of this that we've gone through and that we're going through, we are in victory right now. Why? Because He's faithful and He cares for us.
[7:10] If you're taking notes, number one is that He cares for us. He cares for you. Look at what verse 1 says. Blessed or happy or content or blessed is he that considereth the poor.
[7:22] Okay, so that promise right there, that first part of the verse is kind of like a hinge where the rest of the first three verses hang on. The first three verses hang on this one principle.
[7:35] That blessed is he that considereth the poor. This is something that runs throughout the entire Bible. It goes all the way from the Old Testament to the New Testament. God blesses people that bless the poor.
[7:46] There is a certain truth that belongs to Christians that we have an open heart toward the poor. God's people have always had an open heart toward the poor.
[7:58] Look at what the Bible says in Exodus chapter 22 and verse 21. It says, Thou shalt neither vex a stranger nor oppress him. For you are strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
[8:11] Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 33 says, And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, you shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you, he shall be unto you as one born among you.
[8:23] Treat him like he's one of yours. And thou shalt love him. How are we supposed to love him? As thyself. Isn't that what Jesus says? Love thy neighbor as thyself.
[8:35] It says, For ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. If we jump to the New Testament, there's a whole bunch of verses. We're not going to read them tonight for lack of time. But in James chapter 1 and verse 27, it says, Pure religion and undefiled before God is what?
[8:48] And the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. So God really wants us to help the poor. And that doesn't mean, I want to be careful and for people not to think, Well, this is just, you know, Trying to go out and just be a social gospel And try to help people just be better people And never share the gospel with them.
[9:08] No, no, not at all. We cannot be blind to people's spiritual poverty When we see their physical poverty. We can't just say, Oh, they're poor. Or, oh, they belong to an undeveloped country.
[9:19] We need to help them. We need to help them with water. And just basically send them to hell with a full stomach. That doesn't work. It doesn't, That's not what God wants us to do. You know, Jesus, When He's standing on the mountain, He's looking over the multitude, It says that He had compassion on them.
[9:32] And these are poor people. These are wicked people. These are diseased people. These are demon-possessed people. And He has compassion on them. But it says that He has compassion on them Because they were sheep that had no shepherd.
[9:43] So Jesus' main concern, And Jesus' compassion over the poor, Is their spiritual poverty, That they need a shepherd. And they need Jesus. And so we cannot be ignorant Of people's spiritual poverty.
[9:55] We cannot be ignorant of the fact That people around the world Need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. If there's any one thing That every single person in the world needs, It's not a bottle of water, And it's not a bag of rice, And it's not a kilo of sugar.
[10:08] It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because that is the only thing That will give them hope. That is the only thing That will make them rich. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 Says that you know how God In His riches, I'm sorry that I'm thinking in Spanish, He became poor So that we could be made rich With His poverty.
[10:26] And so Jesus says That He made us rich. He's telling this to some very poor Christians. What makes us rich in this world Is the gospel of Jesus Christ. But we need to be careful That we're not blinded By their physical poverty.
[10:40] We're not blinded To their spiritual poverty. But let me also say That we shouldn't be blinded By their spiritual poverty To their physical poverty. If God's given you the opportunity To be a blessing to someone And to help someone, Maybe you should do that.
[10:53] Maybe you should be a help To a poor person. To a person in need. Maybe you should be a help To someone who is hungry. And someone who needs help In a trying time.
[11:04] And you go, Well the poor, Every time, You know, I spoke to one young man A long time ago And we kept talking about The poor in the Bible And he always wanted to revert back To spiritually poor, Spiritually poor, Spiritually poor.
[11:14] And I'm like, Man, you can't do that. You can't take the Bible Out of context that way Because there is a principle That God blesses people That are a blessing to others. And spiritually and physically That we just love people As ourselves.
[11:28] I'll tell you this, If it was your kid That was starving to death, You would do anything In the world to help them. And the Bible says That you should love That sojourner as yourself. And so there is a need for us To be able to love people.
[11:40] And the most loving thing We can do for them Is share the gospel. But that doesn't mean That it's not loving To share a piece of bread Or to share a bottle of water Or to help in time of need. So look at what it says.
[11:51] It says, Blessed is he that considereth The poor. It's not a person That just throws A bunch of loose change At a beggar. It says that he that considers The poor. That takes into consideration. That gives attention to.
[12:02] That learns from. That pays attention To their need. It says, Blessed is he that considereth The poor. One who considers the poor Is someone who thinks Of others Rather than himself.
[12:14] One who considers the poor Is someone that uses His resources To care for others Rather than storing up For himself. One who considers the poor Is someone who sacrifices His own well-being For the well-being of others. One who considers the poor Is someone who has compassion Over someone else's suffering And need.
[12:28] It's someone With a Christ-like heart. One who considers the poor Is someone who cares for people Like God cares for them. Look what it says. It says, Blessed is he that considereth The poor.
[12:40] Someone said, God himself cares for the poor And he blesses those Who share his compassionate heart. If God cares for the poor Then we should care For the poor.
[12:52] You know, He says some pretty Strong things About people that abuse The poor. Look at Amos chapter 2 And verse 6 It says, Thus saith the Lord For three transgressions Of Israel And four I will not turn away And I didn't put the rest Of the verses But it says, Turn away the punishment Thereof Because they sold The righteous for silver And the poor For a pair of shoes.
[13:18] God does not like it When people take advantage And abuse the poor When they do not consider The poor. And God cares For the poor. Proverbs chapter 6 19 And verse 17 Proverbs 19 Verse 17 I copied it wrong On my Bible So I'm waiting For the screen.
[13:35] It says, He that hath pity Upon the poor Lendeth unto the Lord And that which He hath given Will he pay him again. And you know why We should have this concern? Because God has The same concern for us.
[13:47] And that's really just That's the turning moment In all of this Is that God cares for us. Look at the verse again. It says, Blessed is he that Considereth the poor. The Lord will deliver him In time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him And keep him alive And he shall be blessed Upon the earth.
[14:01] And thou wilt not deliver him Unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him Upon the bed of languishing. Thou wilt make all his bed In his sickness. David is saying, I'm the poor one. I am the poor one.
[14:12] I am the one that is needy. You don't believe me? Jump back to the last chapter. Chapter 40 In verse 17 He says, But I am poor And needy. I am poor And needy.
[14:22] Yet the Lord Thinketh upon me. So blessed is he That considers the poor Because Jesus thinks of me. Jesus cares for me. In my poverty And in my need And in my hardest time And in my toughest trial And in my weakness.
[14:37] Jesus cares for me. He cares for you. He cares for us. Jesus cares for us. It's interesting That David says, Blessed is he who considers the poor When he finished the last chapter Saying, I am poor And needy.
[14:52] He cares for us. The Lord will consider him In this situation. David is the one that is weak. He is the one that is at a low point In his life. He is not only sick But he is evil spoken of.
[15:04] He is betrayed by his friends. But he knows God will take care of him. When you are going through tough trials Remember, I know he will take care of me. If I don't have it, I don't need it.
[15:14] Because he told me That he would take care of me. When you are going through tough trials And tough times in life, Remember, He takes care of you. And he cares for you. Like a compassionate father, He cares for you In this toughest time.
[15:29] He knows That God will take care of him. And he is going to take care In the most general way. Look at what verse 1 says. 41.1 says, Blessed is he that considereth the poor. The Lord will deliver him Out of times of trouble. God is going to take care of you In tough times.
[15:41] But look at what verse 2 says. The Lord will preserve him. Will keep him alive. So he is going to give him life. And he shall be blessed Upon the earth. And thou will not deliver him Unto the will of his enemies. And so it goes from Most general To most specific.
[15:54] Look at verse 3. It says, The Lord will strengthen him Upon the bed of languishing. And so, In the middle of his trial. It doesn't say He will strengthen him After the bed of languishing. It says that He will strengthen him On his bed of languishing.
[16:07] And not only that, It says, Thou will make all his bed In his sickness. See, all this time, I thought that God gave me A wife to make my bed. But it says in this verse That Jesus is the one That's going to make our bed.
[16:17] And it says that He's going to restore our health. He's going to restore our health. He says, I will make all his bed In his sickness. God is with us In the trial.
[16:28] And He cares for you. He cares for you always. Even when others don't. Even when others don't. And even when you are unfaithful.
[16:39] Look at what 2 Timothy 2.13 says, If we believe not, Yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. And if you see verse 4, David admits, Man, I've sinned. I've done plenty of wrong. Have mercy on me.
[16:50] Have mercy on me. Consider me, Not because I've been nice to the poor, But because you are full of mercy. Verse 4 says, I said, Lord, be merciful unto me. Heal my soul, For I have sinned against thee.
[17:02] So, point number one, Is that God cares for us. Amen? Can we agree on that? Amen? God cares for us. It should encourage you. Amen? Amen. Alright, there's four of you that believe me. God cares for us.
[17:14] Point number two, When others don't. God cares for us when others don't. And see, There's only one thing that's worse than being sick, And it's when other people don't care.
[17:26] Right? And when other people actually use this as a tool against you, And this is what's happening in the life of David. Look at what verse 5 says, My enemies speak evil of me. When's he going to die? When shall he die?
[17:37] And his name perish. Basically saying, I hope he doesn't have any kids that are going to inherit, Because I want his truck. I want his kingdom. I want his house. It says, When is his name going to perish? Verse 6, And if you come to see me, He speaketh vanity.
[17:51] Vanity. Empty words. Hey brother, how you doing? We're praying for you. How you feeling today? Do you think you're going to make it out of this one? Oh, we care for you, man. We've been praying for you over down at the synagogue, Over at the temple.
[18:04] We've been praying for you. It says, He speaketh vanity. His heart gathereth iniquity. And so, He doesn't come to visit the King David, To talk to him, And be an encouragement to him. He's actually coming to gather information.
[18:16] And he speaks vanity. He just says all the things that you want to hear. Oh, well, we care about you, man. We can't wait till you get back. We can't wait. And he speaks vanity, And it says that he gathereth iniquity. And so, He's listening to all these tidbits of information.
[18:28] And it says, When he goeth abroad, He telleth it. So, When he goes out, He's like, Oh, well, I visited so and so, And he ain't doing too good. Oh, man. I don't know how much longer he's got left. Oh, I tell you what. Man, it's not looking good.
[18:39] Old David, man. He's not the warrior that he used to be. Man, he's pretty sick. Man, Have you seen? Oh, my goodness. And I walked in and his house was a mess. The kids were running around, Throwing spaghetti everywhere. It was a mess. Have you seen?
[18:50] He gathereth iniquity, And he telleth it abroad. Nobody cares for him. They're actually against him. And many commentators are like, These aren't necessarily like his enemies.
[19:01] It's people that are apathetic toward him. And isn't that rough? Let's just be honest. In sickness, In trouble, In hard times, When you try to share your heart with somebody, And they're just like, Serves you right.
[19:16] Should have thought about that. Told you so. Or when you try to share something with somebody, And they go, We'll be praying for you. All right, You let me know if you need anything. And they never answer your phone call. Hey, We're here for you 24-7.
[19:28] Except between 8 and 9 a.m. It's very difficult to be alone. It's very difficult to be alone. You know, My dad said that That was one of the hardest things That he's ever gone through.
[19:42] He said, I've never felt more alone Than when I was in that hospital. Because I couldn't talk to anybody. Nobody could call me. Nobody could, He said, I just sat there, Alone. And it's really tough to be alone. It's not that we didn't care.
[19:52] We cared. We wanted to be there. But this situation was a little bit different. You know, It's really tough to be alone. It's really tough to be spoken evil of. Look what it says, The next part of the verse. It says, And all that hate me Whisper together against me.
[20:07] It's funny, right? People don't really want to tell you to your face What they say behind your back. And that hurts, doesn't it? It hurts. When other people don't care. He says, They that hate me Whisper together against me.
[20:19] Against me today, Do they devise my hurt? Basically, They're just hoping for the worst. They're just hoping for the worst possible outcome. It says, An evil disease. An evil disease.
[20:30] I bet you it's a demon. I bet you it's because he ain't right with God. I bet you it's because, I bet you it's because, It says, An evil disease. Say they cleaveth fast unto him. And now that he lieth, He shall rise up no more.
[20:41] Man, they are just stabbing him in the back. And he is alone. Yea, Mine own familiar friend, In whom I have trusted.
[20:53] Which did eat of my bread, Hath lifted up his heel against me. You know, They say that this psalm was written because, Aitophel, Which was one of his warriors, Turned his back against him, And went with Absalom, And rose up a whole army to go against David.
[21:08] And he says, My own familiar friend, My own familiar friend, He rose up, And rose his heel against me. He rose up in violence against me. And we see that this happens all throughout history. And it concludes with Jesus, right?
[21:19] That he says, Whoever is going to eat bread with me, He's going to betray me. And says that God cares for us, But other people might not. But God cares for us, right?
[21:30] That's what the first three verses said. God cares for us when others don't. So point number three, Trust in Him. And live in victory. Look at what verse 10 says. It says, But, I love that.
[21:42] Every time in a psalm, David seems to go in the deepest part that he can, And then he just comes out with, But, but, but, but, but, I got another side to this story. And he says, But thou, But thou, O Lord, Be merciful unto me.
[21:55] Hey, Remember me, Lord, Thou merciful to me. Be merciful to me. Raise me up, That I may requite them. It's very interesting. He's actually saying, Raise me up so I can pay them back.
[22:07] Raise me up so I can do justice. And somebody thinks, Wait, wait, wait, The Lord says, Vengeance is mine, Saith the Lord. But this is a king that has to take care of criminals. And he says, I want to do right in the eyes of the Lord. And he says, Raise me up that I might requite them.
[22:19] Verse 11, By this I know that thou favorest me, Because mine enemy does not triumph over me. And as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face forever.
[22:31] You know what he's saying? He is not saying that God will do these things for him. It does not say that God will favor him. It doesn't say that God will triumph over me. It doesn't say that God will uphold his integrity.
[22:43] It doesn't say that God will set him before his face forever. It says that God does. And that's why we can live in victory. Because in the middle of the trial, He's with us. And He says, In the middle of everything, Everybody thinks I'm losing.
[22:55] I'm here in bed. I can't get out of bed. But I know you are with me. And that is the great promise that a Christian can have. Is that in the middle of the trial, We're not losing, friend.
[23:05] We're not losing. Right now, we're not losing. Everything seems to be going wrong, But it's not. Because our God is on the throne. And He is in charge. And He has the victory. He won't get the victory.
[23:16] He has it. And so let's live in that victory. Look what the verses say. It says, Be merciful unto me. Raise me up. By this I know that thou, Present tense, Favorest me.
[23:28] I don't care what other people say about me, Greg. He loves me. He likes me. You know, I read a book. He said, God not only loves you, He likes you. And He says, By this I know that thou favorest me.
[23:40] Because my enemies, They don't triumph. It doesn't say they will not triumph. It says they're not triumphing now. He says, I know that thou favorest me. Because my enemy doth not triumph over me.
[23:52] And as for me, Thou upholdest me. Right now, In the middle of my trial, In the middle of criticism, In the middle of everything going wrong, He upholds my integrity. He upholds my innocence.
[24:04] He upholds me, Saying that I am His. He favors me. He upholds my integrity. There is not a victory in sight for the enemy. It all belongs to Him.
[24:16] Verse 12, And as for me, Thou upholdest me in my integrity, And settest me before thy face forever. He's not saying, God, You're going to set me before your face. You're not going to set me before you, Like I'm before your face right now.
[24:29] And man, Let me tell you, There's nothing more beautiful Than just being in your daddy's face. And I've learned a lot About serving Jesus Through these past, Just this past week.
[24:40] You know, My dad doesn't like getting help. I don't know if you know that about him. But he doesn't like being helped a whole lot. But he can't help it right now. And man, He's getting better every single day. And every single day, He requires less help.
[24:52] But the other day, I think it was last Sunday, Father's Day. And I'm sorry, Dad, If you're upset that I'm sharing this. But man, It was just like One of my special experiences in my life. I'm going to take him And I got to shave him.
[25:04] And I didn't cut him once. But you know what? I just got to be real close to him. And I just got to look at every little pore And every little hair on his face.
[25:15] And got to shave him. And man, It was just like I'm before his face. You know, Just a few weeks ago, He wasn't going to be here. And I cried myself To sleep at night Saying, God, Heal my daddy. God, Heal my daddy.
[25:25] And now, I stand before him And I'm standing before his face. And there's nothing more beautiful. Every time I walk into that stinking house, I just smile. Because he's alive. And this verse says, He set me before your face.
[25:39] There's nothing more beautiful Than being before the presence Of the face of your Father. And you live in victory. You know, Romans kind of says it a different way.
[25:51] Romans says, What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, Who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, But delivered him up for us all, How shall he not with him also Freely give us all things?
[26:03] Who shall lay anything to charge Of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea, rather, That is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us.
[26:17] Who shall separate us From the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, Or distress, Or persecution, Or famine, Or nakedness, Or peril, Or sword? As it is written, For that sake we are killed All the day long.
[26:29] We are counted as sheep For the slaughter. Nay, In all these things We are more than conquerors Through him that loved us. For I am persuaded Neither death, Nor life, Nor angels, Nor principalities, Nor powers, Nor things present, Nor things to come, Nor height, Nor depth, Nor any other creature Shall be able to separate us From the love of God, Which is in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
[26:50] So, We finish the service, Just like David Finishes this first book Of the Psalms. In verse 13, He says, Blessed be the Lord God Of Israel, From everlasting To everlasting.
[27:05] You know, It's funny, Look at verse 12, He says, You set me before your face For how long? You set me before your face Forever. Blessed be his name Forever.
[27:17] From everlasting And to everlasting. Amen? And just in case, A second, Amen. Alright? We are thankful for this. We are blessed. And we're blessed And we bless his name.
[27:27] Why? Because we're not On the losing side. We're not in the losing team. We're not in the losing game. The game is won. It's rigged. We're not going to lose. Alright? And so we can praise him In the middle of this.
[27:38] Because our enemies don't. Our enemies don't win. Because he has set our face Before him. Because he is with us And he favors us.
[27:50] And so, If you feel betrayed, Remember, God cares for you. And if public opinion Has you down, Remember, He favors you.
[28:02] If you feel like you're losing, Remember, He will not allow The enemy to triumph. We can trust in him. And if you look at verse 13, That's how we should finish. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting Into everlasting.
[28:15] Amen? And amen. Dear Jesus, I thank you for this evening. I thank you for your word. I thank you for being so good to me In this time. Lord, You've been so good. And if we wouldn't have been able To keep my dad, You would have still been good.
[28:29] And if things would have gone A different way, You would have still been good. Because the enemy doesn't triumph. We cannot be separated From the love of God. We are more than cockers In all these things. And Lord, We thank you. It's not because of our goodness.
[28:39] It's not because We just consider the poorest. Because you considered us as poor. And you made us rich In Christ Jesus. Lord, I ask you that If there's anybody here That doesn't know Jesus As their personal Savior, That they could experience The victory in their life Through the forgiveness of sins Through Jesus Christ.
[28:56] Lord, If there are people here That are discouraged And going through a tough time, Lord, Just encourage them That even in their bed Of languishing, You will help. And you will give us the victory.
[29:06] I ask you all these things In Jesus' name. As you continue to pray In your seat In Christ's place, I just want to give us All a moment To express our gratitude To our Heavenly Father. Blessed be His name.
[29:17] These truths are so wonderful That if they weren't shown to us From the Word of God, We couldn't fathom That it's even possible That the God of Heaven Would love us to that extent. So let's take a moment there And talk to our Heavenly Father In prayer.